A long while back I gave myself a challenge: I was going to code up and launch a web app in a weekend. And I was going to narrate and record the whole process for later release as a screencast series.

I did just that, and created cowsays.com. I later edited and released two parts of the recording, but I never found the time to release any more parts of the series. This left the people who bought those videos hanging, for which I feel bad.

They’ve done a stunning job on it too. The editing is tight and fast-paced; they’ve added explanatory text when I use a library or gem without explaining what it is; and they’ve added snazzy pan-and-zoom so you that the “camera” is always focused on what’s important. I was absolutely floored when I first saw the finished product. Here’s a preview:

If you’ve ever wanted to watch “over my shoulder” as I think my way through an application, this is the video for you. I cover a ton of ground in this video, from basic REST API stuff to using less-common libraries like DataMapper and Erector. Here’s the list (from Tekpub’s site) of all the topics covered:

Start with nothing but a failing integration test.

Use IO.popen to call out to Perl from Ruby.

Set up Guard to automate tests and Bundler updates.

Use Hub and Magit to simplify working with Git and GitHub.

TDD a simple Sinatra service using RSpec and rack-test.

Create a Heroku app.

Create a Rackup file and deploy to Heroku.

Refactoring the Sinatra app from a “classic” app to a “modular” style app.

Switching to Unit Tests as method logic increases in complexity.

Migrate from a Sinatra app to a Rails app that mounts the Sinatra app as a service.

Use Datamapper for persistence.

Use Erector for object-oriented views.

Use Coffeescript and jQuery to liven up the UI.

If that sounds like something you’d be into, check it out on Tekpub. UPDATE: I now sell this video from my own store. Get it here!

NOTE! If you already bought one or more of the “cowsays” videos from me: please check your inbox; you should have an email with a coupon code which will get you a steep discount.